Wind Power News: LOCATIONS

These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.

NextEra Energy Resources is working to resolve TV reception problems related to its new wind farm, Jay County Commissioners were told Monday. About 15 homeowners in southern Jay County have submitted complaints that UHF and VHF television signals are affected when the wind turbines are spinning and generating electricity. Longtime farmer Tom Warren raised the issue at a commissioners meeting late last month, viewing it as a public safety matter in light of the tornado that swept through the county . . .Complete story »

The operator of several wind turbines near Georgia received a $7,500 for operating the turbines in 2016 during weather that could have led ice to form on the turbines’ blades. The turbines’ owner won’t contest the fine, a representative said. The case establishes important precedent that lets turbine operators know what they’re expected to do during certain types of bad weather, said Andy Raubvogel, an attorney with Burlington law firm Dunkiel Saunders Elliott Raubvogel & Hand, representing Georgia Mountain Community . . .Complete story »

The St. George Select Board voted Monday to oppose an offshore wind project taking shape about 12 miles away, standing with local fishermen who say the project and its transmission cable would harm their livelihoods. The unanimous vote follows a recommendation made by an advisory committee created last month by the five-person Select Board to weigh the impact the Maine Aqua Ventus offshore wind project would have on the local community. “I think it’s a good idea we sever ourselves . . .Complete story »

Commercial fishermen peppered representatives of Deepwater Wind this week with concerns, questions and “what-if” scenarios about the planned offshore wind farm’s feared impacts on marine life and the men who work the waters for a living. The company, which is planning to spend more than $700 million to construct 15 wind turbines in the ocean 30 miles southeast of Montauk, walked a standing-room-only audience at the East Hampton Town Trustees meeting on Monday night through the coming permitting and presumed . . .Complete story »

The Skookumchuck Wind Energy project continues to move forward, although the parameters have changed again, with all of the 38 turbines located in Lewis County as part of updated plans. Sean Bell, senior development manager of RES Americas, provided a brief update to the Board of Lewis County Commissioners on Monday. Once completed, the wind turbines are expected to produce 136.9 megawatts of renewable energy. Once it is developed, it will be sold to Puget Sound Energy, Bell said. The . . .Complete story »

Commentators, as well as congressional Democrats, have criticized the Republican tax bill for being rushed through the House and Senate without significant debate. While that complaint – plus the fact that, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s most recent analysis, the bill could increase the federal deficit by $1 trillion or more – has merit, the new tax bill should bring some much-needed sanity to federal energy policy, and in particular to the lavish subsidies being given to wind and solar energy . . .Complete story »

A Montauk fisherman accused Deepwater Wind of bribing East Hampton Town to grant its offshore wind farm permits and an East Hampton Town trustee told Deepwater Wind officials to show them proof that wind farms don’t harm the environment during Monday night’s meeting of the East Hampton Town trustees. The meeting featured a presentation by Deepwater Wind officials of the environmental and technical details of the project along with a proposal for financial incentives it would provide to East Hampton . . .Complete story »

“I don’t think a low number of complaints shows that people are happy,” said Henriette Vendelbo, chairperson with the Landsforeningen Naboer til Kæmpevindmøller (National Society for Neighbours of Wind Turbines) association.
“I think it’s more due to tiredness. Normally, people have fought for several years before the turbines are erected. And events in other municipalities have shown that it is near hopeless to keep campaigning once the windmills are up,” Vendelbo said.Complete story »

FARMINGTON – The Maine Land Use Planning Commission has postponed its meeting to consider whether to initiate rule-making to expand the expedited wind power permitting area in northern Franklin and Somerset counties. The meeting will be held Tuesday, Dec. 19, beginning at 9 a.m., but a review of NextEra Energy Resources’ petition to expand the permitting area for wind energy development is scheduled for 1 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Spectacular Events Center at 395 Griffin Road in . . .Complete story »

DeKALB – The DeKalb County Board might not have made up its mind yet about wind farms yet, but that’s not stopping EDF Renewable Energy from making plans in the county. The alternative energy company, which has been making arrangements to lease farmland across the county, has testing towers up in two locations in South Grove Township, and operates two wind farms elsewhere in Illinois, also is setting up shop in the DeKalb County business community. PJ Saliterman, a development . . .Complete story »